Crushing on Evans
by a-perfect-melody
Summary: "You came." / "Of course I did, stupid. I'm not in the habit of standing people up." / "Right, Potter, you've got two hours of my life and then I go back to hating you, okay?" / "You look beautiful." / It was safe to say that James Potter was completely and utterly infatuated by Lily Evans


**Crushing on Evans**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and accept no credit towards it. I am not J.K. Rowling nor am I any of her affiliates.**

 **Prompts below.**

 **Warnings for instances of bad language (but no angst for once :p)**

 **Feedback is always appreciated. Xx**

* * *

Everything is funny so long as it's happening to someone else.

That was James's motto.

In second year, he scoffed at Sirius developing a crush on Remus and Peter fancying Emmeline Vance from Ravenclaw because he was twelve and scrawny and still thought love was rainbows and sunshine and for girls.

He laughed along with Sirius when Emmeline rejected Peter's offer to go to Hogsmeade with him in third year because James Potter was thirteen and enjoyed a laugh and, hey, as long as it wasn't happening to him, he was absolutely fine.

All of that changed the moment James went back the autumn after third year, took one look at Lily Evans and practically fainted on the floor.

She was drop dead beautiful (or in Sirius's words "pretty fit, mate.") but James didn't really have the vocabulary for that so, in true Marauder fashion, he edged up to her, making an offhand comment about her hair being the colour of tomatoes, and watched as her face twisted into confusion and her eyebrows raised as high as her hairline.

Behind him, Sirius and Peter were howling so hard they were practically clinging to each other.

James flushed pink and ran off and pretended to be sick for five days to avoid seeing Lily but, _thank Merlin_ , when he went back, she seemed to have forgotten the incident.

.

He started noticing things about her that he hadn't before, like how she wrote with her left hand and always got annoyed with ink spots she left behind, and how on Mondays she wore her hair in a French plait and Saturdays she let it hang loose, and that the book she read most seemed to be _Ballet Shoes_ -

It was safe to say that James Potter was completely and utterly infatuated by Lily Evans.

And gone was the scrawny, irritating child who laughed at people's crushes and liked watching people embarrass themselves because, for the first time, James was learning that liking someone was an occupational hazard.

In Transfiguration, he was given a week's worth of detention for not listening; not at all unusual for a day in the life of James Potter.

The uncommon bit, however, was that the reason for him not paying attention was due to the fact that he couldn't keep his bloody eyes off of Lily Evans.

It wasn't his fault she was prettier than any other girl James had ever seen before and, if anything, she should be the one getting in trouble for being beautiful enough to distract James from his work.

Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall did not count that as an excuse and all it did was cause Lily to turn round in her seat and scowl her most ferocious smile at him, her pretty face crumpling pink.

* * *

"I hate having a crush," James said, slumping on his bed and grimacing at Sirius and Remus clutching hands. "Can't you two do that somewhere else? Do you want to make me feel more miserable?"

Sirius huffed and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Not our fault you can't help insulting Evans everywhere she goes."

" _Insulting_!" James sat up, looking horrified. "I do not insult her! I'm fucking in love with her for Merlin's sake."

"Mate, you literally told her that your detention is her fault for braiding her hair that way and that she should own up and take responsibility for her actions." Sirius said and James flickered his gaze to the ground.

"It sounded better in my head," He muttered and his two best friends fell about snickering. "Stop laughing," he snapped. "Where's Pete? I bet he'd back me up."

"He's snogging Emmy behind the Herbology sheds," Remus sniggered and Sirius howled with laughter.

"Fucking brilliant," James said and threw his pillow at them.

It was safe to say that James had no trouble laughing at other people's misfortunes but once it came to his own, he was utterly and entirely miserable.

* * *

James learnt to love Lily Evans from afar.

She didn't seem interested in him at all (it was probably all that bloody Snape's fault) and the two times he asked her out, she looked as though she would rather eat her own toenails.

Still, he didn't give up (he was a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake and he was as stubborn as they came), and resigned himself to imagining her, imagining the softness of her hair, the curve of her smile, the way her lips would feel on his.

Unrequited love was a prick, James discovered that early on. He found himself resenting Remus and Sirius who had to spring apart in corridors when teachers saw them and had to be physically separated when the time came for them to go to bed.

It just wasn't fair, to either himself or his best friends who were getting sick and tired of moping James and his gloomy eyes.

"Oh, bloody hell, just go and kiss her" Remus moaned after an afternoon during sixth year in which James proceeded to fall on his bed and claim very dramatically that he wasn't playing Quidditch again until Lily had come to see him.

"Yeah, for _Pete's sake_ ," Sirius said, pointing at Peter. "Pun fully intended, Jamesy. The Quidditch match is in five minutes and I'm not loosing to Hufflepuff so you'd better-"

"Shut up," James groaned, burying his face in his duvet. "I'm miserable-

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Peter called. "But be warned; there is a very angsty teenage boy residing inside."

A very furious and wet looking Lily Evans stormed in.

"Where's Potter?" She demanded and the three boys pointed to the curtains hanging round James's bed.

"Right," she said and stomped over, dripping water all over the carpet, her red hair plastered to her face. "James! I cannot believe you. Get down to the Quidditch pitch _now_ before our housemates decide to riot and kill _both_ of us because apparently it's my fault that you won't play-"

Sirius coughed and Lily glared at him.

"McGonagall is raging and, if you think I'm mad, it's nothing compared to her so I suggest you stop feeling sorry for yourself and put your Quidditch stuff on. Where is it?" She turned to James' drawer and started sorting through his robes, much to the Marauders' outrage.

"Evans!" Sirius exclaimed, leaping up and dragging James' Quidditch robes out from under his bed. "You can't ransack James' drawer!"

"I don't need to _ransack_ it," Lily said coldly, wringing out her coat into the bin by James' bed. "It's a pigsty as it is. As for you," she poked James in the shoulder. "Are you ignoring me? Maybe I should just go..."

"Evans!" James suddenly sat up, his eyes wide and Lily gave him a knowing look.

"She knows him too well!" Sirius hissed to Remus and his boyfriend nudged him.

"Ssh!"

"Be quiet, Padfoot," James agreed, staring at Lily. The redhead rounded on him.

"Why aren't you on the Quidditch field? Marlene's going crazy; they're a Chaser down _and_ it's the last game before Christmas; _what_ are you playing at?"

Peter sniggered.

"He's pining, Lils," he said and Lily threw her arms up in exasperation.

"Oh for goodness sake, not this again! You can't miss the game, James, our classmates are actually going to _murder_ me!"

"Yeah, then you wouldn't be able to stare at her," Sirius muttered but nobody paid him any attention.

"How do they know you're the reason James won't play?" Remus asked, curiosity creeping into his eyes.

Lily's fists clenched.

"Oh, I don't know!" She snapped but she looked slightly guilty to be shouting at Lupin. "Perhaps it has something to do with the note James left in the changing rooms refusing to play until, and I quote, 'Evans comes to see me'?"

She glared at James who stuck his hands in his pockets and glared back.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

"Only because Dorcas and Frank threatened to do me in if I didn't get your arse down on the field in five minutes-"

"C'mon, Prongs," Sirius cut in quickly, giving his best mate an appraising look. "Go play. Don't be an idiot."

James seemed to be considering the situation.

"But- but you love Quidditch," Lily said, having seemingly run out of anger. "It's the only thing you can talk about. Why the hell are you missing it?"

"Shows how much he loves you, Lils," Remus said and Lily looked dumbstruck for a moment.

"Don't be stupid," she said uncertainly and turned back to James. "You would never miss Quidditch for me, would you?"

James shrugged, having suddenly developed a severe phobia of speaking.

"Oh, for the love of-" Lily began and then composed herself, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. "Okay, Potter. Listen closely; I'm about to make you a deal," she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You come down to the Quidditch pitch and play the best game you've ever played and I will go to Hogsmeade with you on our next trip."

The whole room fell deathly silent and Sirius, Remus, and Peter spent several moments gawking at each other.

James, however, seemed to have found his voice.

"You- you mean that?" He said suspiciously, his eyes narrowing and Lily looked very much like she wanted to throw something at him.

"Yes! Oh God, I am dying to punch you on the nose right now," her brow furrowed. "But I'll refrain. Now, if you aren't down on that pitch in the next two minutes, I'm taking back my side of the bargain!"

She took a last look at the Marauders, managed to smile at Remus, and then stormed back out again. They could hear her huffing and muttering all the way down the stairs.

There was a split second of silence.

Then the dormitory erupted.

"Prongs has a date with Lily Evans!" Sirius bellowed and clambered up onto his bed. "I repeat; James Potter has a date with Lily Evans!"

"Well," Remus said, glancing at his watch. "For the next one minute and thirty seconds he does."

"Shit!" James swore, scrambling into his robes and hoicking off his tie. "Shit, shit shit." He grabbed his broom. "C'mon, Marauders, let's go."

"Fucking finally," Sirius mumbled as they tore down the staircase and out into the torrential rain, James skidding to a halt besides Marlene McKinnon where McGonagall proceeded to give him a very stern, very rushed twenty second lecture about the responsibilities of being a team player.

In the stands, James thought he could see Lily shaking her head with the very faint traces of an exasperated smile on her face.

* * *

By the time the next Hogsmeade weekend rolled around, James was feeling heartily embarrassed.

"I bet she doesn't show up," he said as he hunted through his bag for his money. "Don't blame her if she doesn't. The last time we spoke I was acting like a petulant child."

"You sound like my mother," Sirius said with a snigger and clapped his best friend on the back. "Calm down, Prongs. She'll be there. Evans' sticks to her promises; remember when she helped Pete pass Potions?"

"Hmm," James said vaguely, running a hand through his hair. "She _is_ amazing," He straightened his glasses. "How do I look?"

"The same as always," Pete volunteered and James flipped him off.

"Well, I'm going, then. Wish me luck and don't you dare follow me."

"Cross our hearts and hope to die," Sirius said with his fingers very firmly linked behind his back.

* * *

She was waiting in the courtyard when he got outside.

Stunningly pretty in jeans and an oversized, off the shoulder, pale pink jumper, she had let her hair loose and it tumbled neatly around her shoulders.

"You came." Was the first thing James said to her and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Of course I did, stupid. I'm not in the habit of standing people up."

"You look beautiful," he told her and watched as her face lit up with barely concealed happiness.

"Thanks," she said, her voice oddly shy, and then she coughed and her sharp, lilting tone came running back. "Makes a pleasant change from 'your hair is the colour of tomatoes'," she blushed a little before continuing. "You- you look very nice too."

"Thanks," James grinned and messed up his hair again to which she sighed but with a fond edge that hadn't been there before.

"Come on, then," she said. "You've got two hours of my life and then I go back to hating you, okay?"

"Unless I manage to win you over," he said, getting into his element and winking. She shoved him.

"Don't push your luck, Potter."

.

They didn't get back until it had gone ten.

"James!" Lily hissed, a slight giggle escaping her lips; both of them had had a few too many Butterbeers. "McGonagall is going to kill us. It's four hours past curfew _and_ we missed dinner!"

As if on cue, her stomach rumbled.

"Lost track of time," James grinned and wrapped an arm around her which, for once, she didn't push off and instead nestled into him.

"Merlin, it's _freezing_ ," she said and huffed when she saw his expression. "Don't look so gleeful, Potter. It's only because I'm cold and you've got a thick coat."

"Whatever you say, Evans," he said and twirled a piece of her hair around his finger which she promptly flicked off.

"Not yet, James. We haven't reached that point."

"Yet," James added and she laughed softly, the mesmerising sound carrying across the ground. "Ssh, Evans, you'll get us found out."

Lily pointed to the lights flickering in Gryffindor tower.

"Bit late for that. The moment we go inside, that common room is going to explode."

There was rustling from the Herbology sheds behind them.

"What's this? A couple of students _out of bed_? Oh yes, Dumbledore's going to hear about this..."

Lily and James froze.

"Filch," James muttered and pushed Lily forward a little bit. "Right, Evans, you go ahead first and I'll come after five minutes. We can't be seen going in together; that'll cause more raucous."

"Gosh, when did you get so smart?" Lily asked, ducking out from under James' arm and brushing snow off of her jumper.

They stared at each other for a second.

"Well," Lily said. "Thanks for taking me out, I guess."

"You had a good time?" James asked hesitantly and, to his relief, she nodded.

"Yes."

"Should we do it again, sometime?"

Lily tilted her head to the side, a small smile lighting up her face.

"Why not?"

James felt a grin spread across his mouth.

"G'night."

"Night," she whispered and turned on her heel, her red hair striking against the falling snow.

"Evans, hold on," James said before he could stop himself and darted forward to grab her arm. She spun, looking anxiously into the darkness behind him.

"James, we need to get inside, before Filch finds us-"

"Screw him," James said vehemently and clutched at Lily's arm. "I- er- er," he began awkwardly. "I wanted to- er- say sorry for my immature behaviour the other week. It was childish and pretty insensitive to expect you to pander to my stubbornness, so- er- sorry."

Lily looked at him, the faint makings of a smirk on her lips.

"Did Remus tell you to say that?" She asked and James felt his face grow red.

"No!" He said hotly. "Well, he might've helped me come up with it but the meaning's still the same."

She looked him up and down.

"I suppose I can forgive you," she said, eyes glinting with mischievousness. "Just as long as our next date won't comprise of emotional blackmail to get me to agree."

"You have my word," James promised, and promptly leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Too much?"

"No," Lily said, looking a little stunned. "Unexpected but not completely surprising. Quite nice, if I'm being honest."

"Lips?" James asked hopefully and she laughed.

"Now, you're stretching it, Potter. Maybe next time you'll get lucky."

And then she was gone, sprinting up the steps of the castle and suddenly it didn't matter that Filch's hand clapped down on James' shoulder or that he was hauled to McGonagall where he was henceforth sentenced to two months worth of detention because _he had kissed Lily Evans and she had said there would be a next time_.

* * *

 **Ehh, okay, so I'm not sure if I like this yet.**

 **I'm pretty sure it's not my best work but I wanted to get it uploaded today so I will probably edit it later.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you thought.**

 **/**

 **Written For:**

 **Camp Potter - Ice Cream Making Station:**

 **Chocolate Dipped Cone -**

 **Lily Evans**

 **Wolfstar**

 **"Everything is funnier as long as it's happening to somebody else**

 **/**

 **Sophie's Tearoom:**

 **Eton Mess Scones - "I am dying to punch you on the nose right now."**

 **/**

 **As always, thank you for reading! Xx**


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